In 2005, we reported on the skeletal remains of shrews (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae) in an assemblage of small mammals excavated in 1941–1942 from an unknown cave north of Copán, Honduras. The identified elements comprised three species that we identified as Cryptotis goodwini Jackson, 1933, C. merriami Choate, 1970, and C. orophilus (Allen, 1895). The remains of C. goodwini were remarkable because, based on the sizes of the dentary and humerus, they represented an animal 39–52% lower in mass than modern members of the species, and we hypothesized the remains were from a Pleistocene population that underwent size increase early in the Holocene. Since 2005, C. goodwini has undergone extensive taxonomic revision, and the name is now understood to have been applied to a complex of at least 13 closely related sky island species, with nominal C. goodwini (sensu stricto) restricted to south central Guatemala. The new taxonomic paradigm prompted us to re-examine the excavated shrew remains from near Copán and further investigate their context. We can now more precisely identify the collection site as the cavern known to archaeologists as Gordon’s Cave #3, which was documented as having an extensive late Holocene bone deposit. Our review of the shrew remains indicates they represent a member of the C. goodwini clade, but a species smaller than any known member of that group. Herein, we describe this as a new, previously unrecognized, probably extant species from the highlands north of Copán. Please cite as: Woodman N, Croft DA. 2026. Revisiting Subfossil Small-eared Shrews of the Genus Cryptotis Pomel, 1848 from Near Copán, Honduras, with the Description of a New Species (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae). Occasional Papers, Museum at Texas Tech University 394:1-26.
Bats are the second most speciose lineage of mammals with more than 1,300 recognized species. Overall, bats are extremely ecologically and morphologically diverse, making them of interest to a wide variety of biologists. Bats are also known reservoirs for an assortment of zoonotic diseases, including rabies, for which they are commonly tested if identified as sick, behaving abnormally, or in instances where there has been a significant human exposure. In these cases, proper identification of bat species is important to public health experts as it will inform future testing procedures and management practices, as well as broaden our understanding of rabies virus bat variant distributions and disease ecology. Despite the multiple disciplines interested in bats, no key has been developed which includes all species found within the United States. For this reason, a dichotomous key and bat identification guide, designed to differentiate bats to species level, has been developed. This document can be used by people with a variety of backgrounds to morphologically identify bats quickly and accurately using only a scale, a ruler, and attention to detail.
Few studies have reported didelphid communities of ≥10 species, and all of these have been from within the tropics sensu stricto of South America. Herein a community of 12 species of didelphids is described from a sub-tropical site in south-central South America. The Reserva Natural del Bosque Mbaracayú, in northeastern Paraguay, lies at the western margin of the Interior Atlantic Forest and the southwestern limit of the Cerrado, two important South American ecoregions. The rich didelphid community in this area likely results from the mosaic of habitats encountered at the distributional limits of these two ecoregions. Within the context of this mosaic, the species' habitat associations and vertical occupancy are discussed, as well as the reproductive patterns and population abundance variation of the more commonly encountered species. Three Monodelphis species were found in sympatry, all strictly terrestrial, along with Cryptonanus chacoensis. Marmosa paraguayana shared all habitats with Gracilinanus agilis, and both of these species primarily were arboreal. Although this natural reserve has been more extensively sampled than any other area in Paraguay, numerous questions remain unanswered regarding this rich didelphid community.
We conducted a karyological investigation of the pine voles Microtus (Terricola) and Microtus (Hyrcanicola) inhabiting Azerbaijan. Differentially and non-differentially stained karyotypes of three species (M (H.) schelkovnikovi, M. (T.) majori, and M. (T.) daghestanicus) revealed a constant diploid number (2n = 54) and variation in fundamental number (FN = 5862). Differential staining revealed pericentric inversions accounted for variation in FN and also revealed variation in NOR position and number as well as in C-band heterochromatin amount and distribution. Two subspecies of M. majori from the Greater and Lesser Caucuses, respectively, differed in heterochromatin and NOR distribution and possibly represent distinct species. The non-differentially stained karyotype of a fourth species, M. nasarovi (2n = 38, FN = 58) from the Lesser Caucuses, was found to be highly distinct from the previously considered conspecific M. daghestanicus (2n = 54, FN = 58) from the Greater Caucuses. We conclude that there are at least four species, and possibly five, of pine voles in Azerbaijan and further systematic stud¬ ies should be conducted to determine the taxonomic status of the recognized subspecies of M. majori. The Greater and Lesser Caucasus Mountains appear to have served as refugia providing for differentiation among species pairs of pine voles.
In 2008 a mammal survey was conducted in humid tropical forest on the western slope of the Andes near the town of Santa Rosa. Sherman traps, tomahawk traps, pitfall traps, and mist nets were used to collect mammal specimens at two sites (450 m elevation and 702 m elevation). A total of 113 specimens of 32 species were collected from the survey area. Seventeen Chiropteran species (Saccopteryx bilineata, Anoura fistulata, Glossophaga soricina, Micronycteris megalotis, Phyllostomus discolor, Carollia perspicillata, Sturnira bogotensis, Sturnira luisi, Artibeus jamaicensis, Dermanura rava, Dermanura rosenbergii, Platyrrhinus vittatus, Vampyriscus nymphaea, Vampyressa thyone, Eumops auripendulus, Eptesicus innoxius, and Myotis albescens) and one rodent species (Sigmodontomys aphrastus) represent new records for southwestern Imbabura. New elevation records also were documented for Anoura fistulata and Sturnira bogotensis. Shannon diversity analyses of the Chiropteran fauna and overall mammal diversity indicated greater diversity at the 450 m site.
Molecular genetic sequence variation among the sportive lemurs (genus Lepilemur) of Madagascar was investigated utilizing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data (ca.3,000 base pairs).We infer Lepilemur phylogenetic relationships based on the topology of mtDNA trees generated with 225 individuals from 24 currently recognized species of the genus from 43 field sites, along with a previously undefined taxon from Mananara-Nord Biosphere Reserve.We formally describe this new species based on genetic analyses and biogeographic information (including the recent Inter-River-Systems model), supplemented with morphological data.
Geographic distributions of mammals are not static, and natural changes in distribution often are related to changes in habitat and climate. Mammalian distributions also can change with human introductions, lack of prior surveys, and misidentification of museum specimens. Here, I report on distributional records for seven species of mammals in southern New Mexico, including Nasua narica, Ammospermophilus harrisii, Chaetodipus baileyi, Dipodomys merriami, Peromyscus truei, Sigmodon fulviventer, and Sigmodon hispidus. For one species (A. harrisii), new records likely reflect a distributional shift related to recent changes in habitat, whereas others (C. baileyi, D. merriami, P. truei, S. fulviventer, and S. hispidus) likely represent overlooked populations because of a paucity of published surveys in the region. For N. narica, data include details on localities of record and reproductive data for a species previously known from the region but lacking specific details. Continued surveys and documentation of distributional limits of mammals will allow us to better evaluate how environmental changes affect biological communities and will help us to interpret new extra-limital records.
In 2008, fieldwork was conducted that resulted in the identification of 18 new mammal records from three counties (Dickens, Hall, and Motley) in northwest Texas.An additional 13 county records collected from 1956-2005 (including from Briscoe County) were identified after an examination of specimens housed in the Natural Science Research Laboratory of the Museum of Texas Tech University.Collecting efforts such as these provide important natural history data that can be used in future assessments of the mammalian diversity within Texas.
Located off the northeastern coast of Venezuela, Trinidad is a small tropical island with a rich diversity of bats. Although 66 species have been documented, few inventories have published information on community structure of bats in the diverse habitats of the island. Here we report on composition, abundance, and natural history of species captured primarily in the Northern Range at the end of the rainy season (late December early January). We captured 789 individuals representing 30 species in six families, including 672 bats in nets at ground level and 117 associated with roosts. Our capture rates in ground-level mist nets were substantially higher than other surveys reported from Trinidad. In ground-level nets, Carollia perspicillata, Artibeus jamaicensis, Uroderma bilobatum, Platyrrhinus helleri, and A. glaucus composed 79.8% of captures, and those species were present at most sites. Bats in the family Phyllostomidae accounted for 91% of captures and 59% of species. By feeding guild, captures were comprised of frugivores (86%), aerial insectivores (7%), nectarivores (3%), omnivores (3%), and gleaning animalivores (2%). We observed reproductive activity in only seven species, but this represents new seasonal information for Trinidad. Our study reports on the natural history of Trinidad’s unique and diverse chiropteran fauna during a time of year when little information is available.
We report new locality records for 23 species of mammals from western Oklahoma collected during spring and summer 2005, 2006, and 2007. Of these records, four constitute range extensions for the documented distributions of these species in Oklahoma (Scalopus aquaticus, Microtus pinetorum, Neotoma floridana, Reithrodontomys fulvescens) and one is a range extension for North America (Baiomys taylori). Specimens were collected as part of a survey of 14 western Oklahoma Wildlife Management Areas. These records enhance our understanding of the distribution and natural history of mammalian fauna on the southern Great Plains.
Nucleotide sequences from the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome-b gene were used to infer phylogenetic relationships and estimate genetic distances from 10 individuals of Melanomys caliginosus and to explore the hypothesis that this taxon is comprised of multiple species. Individuals of four geographic populations of M. caliginosus from Central America (Nicaragua and Costa Rica), Panama, Venezuela, and Ecuador, respectively, were included in this analysis. Topologies obtained from maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference analyses were identical and produced clades referable to each of the geographic populations. Genetic distances between any pair-wise comparisons of the four groups (except between Panamanian and Venezuelan samples) were comparable to values estimated from comparisons of sister species in the closely related genus Nectomys. Distances between samples from Panama and Venezuela were greater than those of samples within the Ecuadorian and Central American clades, but less than that between species of Nectomys. Based on results from the sequence data, it appears that all four of the populations should be elevated to species level; however, additional data are needed to resolve the nomenclature of the Panamanian and Venezuelan populations.
A year-long mammal survey at Vicksburg National Military Park (VICK), Vicksburg, Mississippi, was conducted during 2005. Presence was documented using photographs, sign, and voucher collections, incorporating multiple capture and monitoring techniques such as livetrapping, pitfall traps, remote cameras, mist nets, and ANABAT II detectors. A total of 1,011 detections of 37 mammal species was recorded in 9,871 trap nights, 16,392 camera hours, and 352 mist-netting hours. Overall capture indices were 1.7 per 100 trap nights (TN) for small mammals, 33.5 per 100 TN for mesoand large mammals, and 37.0 per 100 TN for bats. Spe¬ cies accumulation curves and predicted species richness estimates indicate that trapping effort was sufficient for a complete inventory. However, nine species (Ochrotomys nuttalli, Oryzomys palustris, Reithrodontomys fuhescens, Ondatra zibethica, Rattus rattus, Rattus norvegicus, Neovison vison, Lontra canadensis, Spilogale putorius) that have distributions overlapping the study area were not detected. These mammals should be regarded as potential but unconfirmed species in the park.
Species new to the mammalian fauna of Big Bend Ranch State Park are presented. New information for several species known from the Park that adds to the knowledge of distribution and presence within the Park also is presented.
